Celtics Minimum Contracts to Pursue as Late NBA Free Agency Steals
The Boston Celtics have assembled the NBA's roster.
That sounds like a subjective assessment, but given this club's wire-to-wire dominance and championship ending to this past season, it sure feels like an objective observation.
The Celtics could reasonably conclude they have everything they need to defend their title, but the best run franchises are always searching for ways to improve. And Boston could have the chance to find a couple of improvements, particularly if the following three free agents could be had for minimum contracts.
Dāvis Bertāns, PF
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As long as coach Joe Mazzulla is calling the shots, the Celtics might laugh at the idea of a team ever having too much shooting.
If they want to have another net-shredder around, Dāvis Bertāns would be worth a look.
The 6'10" forward's perimeter shot once earned him a five-year, $80 commitment from the Washington Wizards, and while that was clearly an overpay, it's still a testament to the quality (and quantity) of his long-range lasering. He has averaged just a shade under 10 three-point attempts per 36 minutes for his career and still managed a 39.6 percent splash rate, per Basketball-Reference.com.
His skill tree doesn't branch out from shooting, but if that's all Boston wanted out of him, he could deliver a decent return for a minimal investment.
Jae Crowder, SF/PF
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On first glance, the Celtics are seemingly stacked at the forward spots. After all, no team boasts a better wing tandem than Boston's combo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and sharpshooter Sam Hauser just held down a playoff rotation spot for the champions.
That's pretty much it for this forward rotation, though. Even if the Celtics are hopeful of a young player like Jordan Walsh or Baylor Scheierman commanding some floor time, the reasons to believe that will happen don't really reach beyond crossed fingers.
The Celtics could have more tangible beliefs in Jae Crowder's ability to lock down a rotation spot. He just made 25 starts (and 50 appearances) for a Milwaukee Bucks team with championship aspirations, providing his normal blend of defensive tenacity and sporadic shot-making.
He also has a history with the franchise having spent two-plus seasons in Boston earlier in his career. He isn't the player he was back then, obviously, but the 34-year-old could still be a helpful supplier of toughness, experience and some baseline three-and-D skills.
Dennis Smith Jr., PG
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The Celtics have the league's best defensive backcourt in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.
They've also expressed interest in having another shut-down stopper behind them. That desire (plus a discounted trade cost) led them directly to Jaden Springer at this past season's trade deadline.
Springer has yet to become a rotation regular over his first three NBA seasons, though. The Celtics might prefer a more polished, proven player to fill that role, particularly if that player could be had for cheap.
Dennis Smith Jr. seems an obvious candidate for the role. His offensive game has never developed the way folks hoped it would when he was made the ninth overall pick in 2017, but his defense can be a dominant at the point of attack. There could be a scenario in which Boston seeks him out for defense and quietly believes it can squeeze more from him on the offensive end (in efficiency, if not volume) than his previous employers have.
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